The initial layer of the continuous settlement of the Carevi Kuli site represents the time of the Chalcolithic, i.e. the Copper Age.

The prehistoric settlement is of the hillfort type and is located on a terrace on the southeastern slope, on the edges of the northwestern plateau and on the South Hill (Južen Rid) site.

Judging by the findings, the people in the settlement, in addition to construction, animal husbandry and agriculture, were also engaged in spinning, weaving, pottery and making tools from stone, flint, bone and horn.

The overall knowledge about the Chalcolithic culture of Carevi Kuli speaks in favor of clearly defined religious concepts that had a significant role in the life of the prehistoric population.

[3] Towards the end of the 3rd millennium BC, the bearers of the Early Bronze Age began the second phase of continuous settlement of the Carevi Kuli site.

Among those from the Middle Bronze Age, the most impressive are the vessels with so-called wishbone handles and those richly decorated with geometric carvings.

The largest part consists of finds of pottery, above all, bowls with a channeled rim, jugs decorated with hatched hanging triangles, portable ovens (pyraunoi), etc.

[7] Towards the end of the 5th century BC, the locality was used again by the population that built the first urban settlement at the foot of Carevi Kuli under the foundations of today's Strumica.

Unlike the large ancient pits, archaeological excavations at the top of the hill did not indicate concrete remains of any other construction from the same era.

[10] The material filled in the pits consisting antique and grey Paeonian pottery (amphora, kylix, skyphos, kantharos, askos, aryballos, bowls, plates, etc.

It seems that the Carevi Kuli plateau, during the 5th-4th centuries BC, was used as a sanctuary, that is, a kind of temenos, where the population of the ancient city, under the foundations of today's Strumica, practiced religious and cult activities.

[13] In addition to the study of the settlement in the time of the Hellenistic epoch, the necropolis of the South Hill (Južen Rid) locality also testifies.

[18] In the Roman layers of Carevi Kuli, a variety of craft-art products were found, consisting of a bronze statuette with a stylized representation of Mercury, jewelry, utilitarian objects, etc.

Given the strong rampart fortification and the rich reserves of water and food, which were stored within the fortress, the citizens of the ancient city at the foot of Carevi Kuli could stay here for months.

Research has shown that the hill began to be used for burials at the end of the 3rd and the beginning of the 4th century, probably after the construction of the Late Antique fortress of Carevi Kuli.

Judging by the material remains, first of all, the coins minted in the time of Maurice (582-602), this fortress above the city will function until the eighties of the 6th century when it will probably be abandoned.

[21] The layers from Late Antiquity, that is, the Early Byzantine horizon, represent one of the richest and most diverse periods in the material culture of the Carevi Kuli site.

Bearing in mind the danger of the Crusaders,the Uzis, the Pechenegs, and the Cumans, the emperors of the Byzantine lineage of the Komnenians directed their energies towards the organization of the defensive power in this part of the Byzantinе Empire.

That the fortress began to be built shortly after the First Crusade is also evidenced by the fact of the large concentration of the Byzantinе army in these parts at the end of the 11th century.

[22] Judging by the research, the activities in the fortress recorded the greatest rise during the reign of the independent lords Dobromir Hrs and Strez, ie towards the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century.

The medieval fortress Carevi Kuli was a complex fortification that, in addition to the military crew, also had civilians who performed certain tasks related to daily activities.

The length of the fortress is 230 m, while the greatest width is 80 m. The total perimeter of the medieval walls,together with the defensive towers, is about 550 m. At the time it was active, its area was about 1.15 hectares.

[24] The cultural layers from the medieval period of Carevi Kuli are distinguished by a multitude of archaeological findings that represent material confirmation of the intense life within the fortress and around it.

[26] From the documents of the time, it is known that at the beginning of the 15thcentury, the Ottomans repaired a large number of fortresses and placed garrisons and a huge military-administrative apparatus in them.

He wrote about them that they were abandoned since Strumica was in the center of the Ottoman Empire, that the fortress started to collapse recently, and that only a few soldiers - martolos - were staying in it.

[29] The researches of the Late Medieval layers of Carevi Kuli, gave birth to many finds that are connected with the Ottoman Middle Ages.

The largest number of them are related to the daily activities of the military crew, and are composed of Late Medieval and Ottoman pottery.

A small amount is made up of jewelry finds, consisting exclusively of rings, and several utilitarian objects that were used in everyday activities are also recorded.

Long abandoned and ruined, towards the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, the fortress above Strumica was already part of the legends and traditions of the local population.

Namely, at the beginning of the great fasts, during the first three days, called "trimeri", the town's population from Strumica used to visit the fortress and distribute leftovers from the trimers' lunch here.